Rather than starting a new thread every month for this list of the Top 300 comics and graphic novels sold through Diamond Comics Distributors, I'll just refresh it every month when I've got the latest list done and ready for viewing.

These lists contain no Marvel or DC numbers, and while none of the non big two books sell numbers like Marvel & DC, the numbers overall don't look to bad to me on average. Obviously nobody's getting rich, but the wealth and dirth of material looks good considering this is Diamond and the direct market.

But Stan Lee and Boom Studio's have to be terribly disappointed. 12,000 copies for their heavily marketed Soldier Zero comic. Ouch!

But Stan Lee and Boom Studio's have to be terribly disappointed. 12,000 copies for their heavily marketed Soldier Zero comic. Ouch!

Um, that chart puts their sales at almost 20,000 copies, and reorders put that number at about 24K if BOOM's press release is to be believed, making it their most successful launch to date. Granted, I don't know what kind of a page rate the creators involved are making, or what Stan's cut might be, but most Image creators would kill a nun for those numbers.

But, frankly, I don't know that Lee's name attached to anything is really much of a selling point these days -- (I bought -- and enjoyed -- Soldier Zero because Cornell's the guy doing the heavy lifting, much like I'll be buying Traveler because it's Waid behind the wheel) -- whereas Kevin Smith's name attached to a comic actually draws potential readers/customers from outside comics' customary readership.

Yeah I read that article over at Johanna Draper Carlsons blog (a great blog by the way), and I guess you are right, who does a guy like Stan Lee appeal to nowadays anyways? I guess it would be another thing if he was actually writing the stories themselves, maybe then 50,000 + copies sold would be a probability?

But I love that there are so many "indy" comics slowly matriculating up the charts (especially graphic novels), but the days of anyone getting fat and rich off comics is definitely over right?

I'm thinkin the days of anyone new getting into the field and making any kind of livable income are largely over until the whole dead tree/digital thing calms down a little bit. We'll see what happens after that. This is, of course, aside from a few geniuses who find a new way to break in or just have undeniable talent and go straight from Deviantart to DC Comics.

the days of anyone getting fat and rich off comics is definitely over right?

I dunno about "fat and rich," but Kirkman seems to be doing okay. Besides, you've got long odds against becoming "fat and rich" in any job, in any industry, though, don't you?

Consider also how quickly Jason Aaron*, Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer went from their first published comics to regular work (and in the case of Aaron and Hickman, exclusive contracts) at one of the Big Two.

Like Spike said, there will always be a place for people with talent and determination.

(*I know, I know. I'm dismissing that Wolverine contest entry as, if not a fluke, then an outlier, at least.)

@Paul: I'm hardly an unbiased opinion, but critical response to my Vampi debut was largely favorable with a few naysayers pissed off that I've temporarily done away with the spacethong. I'm told the traditional issue 2 plummet was followed by a strong rebound with issue 3, so I'm starting to breathe a cautious sigh of relief about Vampirella.

January's Sales Lists are now up. Interesting stuff once again. With all the recent controversy surrounding Eric Powell and his outrageous video, his latest trade of Goon shows up at #4 on the Diamond list. Awesome.